Biopsy samples have been obtained in a variety of ways in various medical procedures using a variety of devices. Biopsy devices may be used under stereotactic guidance, ultrasound guidance, MRI guidance, PEM guidance, BSGI guidance, or otherwise. For instance, some biopsy devices may be fully operable by a user using a single hand, and with a single insertion, to capture one or more biopsy samples from a patient. In addition, some biopsy devices may be tethered to a vacuum module and/or control module, such as for communication of fluids (e.g., pressurized air, saline, atmospheric air, vacuum, etc.), for communication of power, and/or for communication of commands and the like. Other biopsy devices may be fully or at least partially operable without being tethered or otherwise connected with another device.
Merely exemplary biopsy devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,526,822, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Automated Biopsy and Collection of Soft Tissue,” issued Jun. 18, 1996; U.S. Pat. No. 6,086,544, entitled “Control Apparatus for an Automated Surgical Biopsy Device,” issued Jul. 11, 2000; U.S. Pat. No. 6,626,849, entitled “MRI Compatible Surgical Biopsy Device,” issued Sep. 11, 2003; U.S. Pat. No. 7,442,171, entitled “Remote Thumbwheel for a Surgical Biopsy Device,” issued Oct. 8, 2008; U.S. Pat. No. 7,854,706, entitled “Clutch and Valving System for Tetherless Biopsy Device,” issued Dec. 1, 2010; U.S. Pat. No. 7,938,786, entitled “Vacuum Timing Algorithm for Biopsy Device,” issued May 10, 2011; U.S. Pat. No. 7,662,109, entitled “Biopsy Device with Replaceable Probe Incorporating Static Vacuum Source Dual Valve Sample Stacking Retrieval and Saline Flush,” issued Feb. 16, 2010; U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2006/0074345, entitled “Biopsy Apparatus and Method,” published Apr. 6, 2006; U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2008/0214955, entitled “Presentation of Biopsy Sample by Biopsy Device,” published Sep. 4, 2008; U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2008/0221480, entitled “Biopsy Sample Storage,” published Sep. 11, 2008, now patented as U.S. Pat. No. 8,118,755; U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2010/0152610, entitled “Hand Actuated Tetherless Biopsy Device with Pistol Grip,” published Jun. 17, 2010; U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2010/0160819, entitled “Biopsy Device with Central Thumbwheel,” published Jun. 24, 2010; U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2010/0317997, entitled “Tetherless Biopsy Device with Reusable Portion,” published Dec. 16, 2010, now patented as U.S. Pat. No. 8,206,316; U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 12/953,715, entitled “Handheld Biopsy Device with Needle Firing,” filed Nov. 24, 2010, published as U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2012/0109007 on May 3, 2012; U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 13/086,567, entitled “Biopsy Device with Motorized Needle Firing,” filed Apr. 14, 2011, published as U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2012/0265095 on Oct. 18, 2012; U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 13/150,950, entitled “Needle Assembly and Blade Assembly for Biopsy Device,” filed Jun. 1, 2011, published as U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2012/0310110 on Dec. 6, 2012; U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 13/205,189, entitled “Access Chamber and Markers for Biopsy Device,” filed Aug. 8, 2011; U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 13/218,656, entitled “Biopsy Device Tissue Sample Holder with Bulk Chamber and Pathology Chamber,” filed Aug. 26, 2011; and U.S. Provisional Patent App. No. 61/727,889, entitled “Biopsy System with Graphical User Interface,” filed Nov. 19, 2012. The disclosure of each of the above-cited U.S. patents, U.S. patent application Publications, U.S. Non-Provisional patent applications, and U.S. Provisional patent application is incorporated by reference herein.
While several systems and methods have been made and used for obtaining a biopsy sample, it is believed that no one prior to the inventor has made or used the invention described in the appended claims.
The drawings are not intended to be limiting in any way, and it is contemplated that various embodiments of the invention may be carried out in a variety of other ways, including those not necessarily depicted in the drawings. The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of the specification illustrate several aspects of the present invention, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention; it being understood, however, that this invention is not limited to the precise arrangements shown.